today – i paused

My eyes welled up with tears and I could feel anger enter my body as I heard of two 12-year-old girls who stabbed a friend recently.I pausedI couldn’t believe what I was hearing yet once again on another drive-by shooting on a California college campus wondering when the madness is going to stop.I pausedI continue to hear fear based rants regarding homosexuality ruining the family, Muslims being terrorists, or a variety of fearful words on those different than us being wrong and I asked myself how can this still be in 2014?I pausedI heard of another child committing suicide due to bullying and the outrage about the bully and I wondered how is bullying the bully solving anything?I pausedWhy did I pause? I paused to offer space to bring love into the conversation. Fear speaks without understanding and complete information. Fear yells SEE ME SEE ME and tries to tell a story of the world in conflict. Fear pits them against us. It’s so very easy to fall into fear, especially when we’ve been given news that is seemingly unfathomable, yet if we continue to think, speak, and act from a space of fear, we fan its flames.Why did I pause? I paused to bring compassion, care, understanding, and love into the conversation knowing that LOVE is the answer. Fear may be a quicker resolution – judge, condemn, punish, yet love allows us to be compassionate and ask why this took place offering us the opportunity to heal and come up with solutions where there seems to be none. These issues that we face aren’t easily explained or fixed, however continuing to fuel them with additional hatred, anger, judgment allows them to expand rather than shrink. Love doesn’t release responsibility, yet it does look at the core of the event to help mend wounds rather than simply putting a Band-Aid on it until it breaks open and happens again. Love says I’m sorry you are hurting. Love says we will get through this together. Love looks fear in the eyes and pauses knowing it’s within the pause that compassion, kindness, and resolutions are found.Today I will pause when I find myself focusing on our differences and I will send love to those who are living in such fear they act out upon their fears whether it be in hateful words or actions. I will pause when I find myself focusing on my own fears and send love. I will pause when I find myself judging those judging and send love. Today, I will pause and ask love to step in and open my heart even bigger to all the love that exists in the world as it is truly far greater than the fear that yells SEE ME…SEE ME. Fear is like a 2-year-old throwing a tantrum, while love simply is there waiting for you.Today I pause and I invite you to pause with me and allow more love in.